Succulents and swimming pools (& Friday Links)

I’ve had this pool pinned for years. I keep thinking we need to take out the grasses by the side of our pool and put in some succulents like these, but I need to do a bit more research on how large they can get. Some of our neighbors’ aloes are absolutely enormous! So until I figure it out, I’m just going to try and feel the warmth emanating from this picture. I miss summer.

Apparently this is photographer Philip Dixon’s Moroccan-inspired home in Venice, California—or at least it was. He bought it back in 1975 and, at some point, it was listed for $13 million. I love all the open space and stone.

We gave this book about dry gardens as a gift recently, and I just borrowed it back. I’ve decided that Ruth Bancroft’s garden in Walnut Creek might be the place we need to go for that research. Has anyone been?

Hope you have some fun plans for the long weekend! We’re headed for the snow, but I’ll also be closely following the news out of nearby Oroville, where so many residents have been displaced. I’m hoping for everyone’s safety.

I can’t spend $100 on a dog bowl (sorry, Sawyer—you already get the most expensive haircuts around here), but I am now searching for a less expensive alternative this this Orvis one. So much prettier!

Especially after working on the fringes of media for the past few years, I really do believe we need to start getting news subscriptions if we want to support independent reporting. Here’s a friend’s take.

I’m oddly intrigued to try out John Derian’s favorite pen. “We use it to write the pricing on all the tags in the store. I wanted all the tags to look consistent, so we have to use this pen. It’s sort of a shop fixture.” (via NY Mag)

Where to begin with that offensive DeVos cartoon? Here’s a go. The story of 6-year-old Ruby Bridges attending school all by herself for an entire year while white parents removed their children and threatened her, and while her family lost their jobs is one of such bravery in the face of such cruelty. It’s a discussion about cultural sensitivity that may be provocative for many historical analogies.

Recognizing institutional racism through the lens of Adele, Beyonce, and the Grammys.